Hello everyone.
I have an aged Aragon D2A converter, as well as a (roughly) 12 year old eBay board purchased on the suggestions here at the time. I will probably finish that up as well, but I put the brakes on when I found this eBay listing. I like what I see, as far as board layout is concerned; they offer the proper power supply board (separately), which I would stick in another box with transformer(s), and pricing seems decent to me. Dual mono via completely separate chips; ganged together. Balanced output is attractive to me as well. The only "upgrade" offered is the "better" clocking module. I'd probably splurge for it, because I'm trying to get to a "last" DAC for me and my CDs.
Has anyone built, and more importantly HEARD one of these boards? I don't see much room for improvement in the components chosen- at least not enough to warrant removal and replacement. But, is it a good implementation? I can't tell- digital is well beyond my capability.
This will not be a "cheap" build, so I'd like some guidance from those more deeply nested in the digital decoding world, before I start ordering parts...
I have an aged Aragon D2A converter, as well as a (roughly) 12 year old eBay board purchased on the suggestions here at the time. I will probably finish that up as well, but I put the brakes on when I found this eBay listing. I like what I see, as far as board layout is concerned; they offer the proper power supply board (separately), which I would stick in another box with transformer(s), and pricing seems decent to me. Dual mono via completely separate chips; ganged together. Balanced output is attractive to me as well. The only "upgrade" offered is the "better" clocking module. I'd probably splurge for it, because I'm trying to get to a "last" DAC for me and my CDs.
Has anyone built, and more importantly HEARD one of these boards? I don't see much room for improvement in the components chosen- at least not enough to warrant removal and replacement. But, is it a good implementation? I can't tell- digital is well beyond my capability.
This will not be a "cheap" build, so I'd like some guidance from those more deeply nested in the digital decoding world, before I start ordering parts...
Link to board?
Most likely there are some non-optimal things about it. Without at least some good pics its very hard to estimate what issues you might find once a board is in your hands.
Also, why dual mono ES9038PRO? IMHO, AVCC implementation is easier to do well with ES9028PRO since the current requirements are less.
Most likely there are some non-optimal things about it. Without at least some good pics its very hard to estimate what issues you might find once a board is in your hands.
Also, why dual mono ES9038PRO? IMHO, AVCC implementation is easier to do well with ES9028PRO since the current requirements are less.
Link:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1853772679...var=693162317665&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
I'm not trying to run off batteries or anything, so power consumption is not a concern, really.
There are other "dual mono" version s on eBay, but I like the look of the layout on this one (even thought I don't know much about layout)...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1853772679...var=693162317665&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
I'm not trying to run off batteries or anything, so power consumption is not a concern, really.
There are other "dual mono" version s on eBay, but I like the look of the layout on this one (even thought I don't know much about layout)...
Voltage regulators are what I would NOT use. Clock is what I would NOT use. Because there is no clear hi-res pic of the entire board's top and the bottom, just a few close-ups of the top, I would say it is intended by the seller that we not be able to tell from the pics enough what a buyer would be getting. Also, looks like its made to interface with a cheap Chinese version of an Amareo USB board. There are not proper grounds for each of the I2S RF signals. Concern about AVCC current is not battery draw, it is not as easy to design a good sounding AVCC supply if current demands are too high. It can be done, but not as easy to do well on a budget, at least IME. In that particular regard dacs intended for measurement uses may be a different matter from dacs intended for human enjoyment. That's a personal opinion. Aside from all the foregoing, for myself I would probably prefer the sound of AKM dac chips over ESS. Maybe not your preference, don't know. Bottom line for me: I would avoid this one. Of course others may differ on that.
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It is configured to take a “clone” USB board as well as the genuine Italian made one.
They do offer a dedicated power supply board- not cheap (price or build- it looks to be well conceived and has separate lines for each power feed for each side; I think it has five regulated outputs?)
They also offer a Bluetooth board.
I wish it had a proper AES/EBU input on it. That, and maybe USB, are all I’d be using.
I had asked a while back for a schematic and they declined to provide it.
They do offer a dedicated power supply board- not cheap (price or build- it looks to be well conceived and has separate lines for each power feed for each side; I think it has five regulated outputs?)
They also offer a Bluetooth board.
I wish it had a proper AES/EBU input on it. That, and maybe USB, are all I’d be using.
I had asked a while back for a schematic and they declined to provide it.
having the dedicated external power supply 'upgrade' board external may be good for sales to diyers, but its not a way to get the best performance.
otherwise, nothing convinces me its a great design. all the red lollie decoupling caps are there for show; fashion only. they are pretty much the worst cap for decoupling in this scenario.
otherwise, nothing convinces me its a great design. all the red lollie decoupling caps are there for show; fashion only. they are pretty much the worst cap for decoupling in this scenario.